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Rescued animals on the mend (GALLERY)

Published: Thursday, August 22, 2013 at 06:10 PM.

FREEPORT — Last Friday about 100 dogs arrived at the Alaqua Animal Refuge in one fell swoop and overran the shelter.

There was a distinct absence of the hoopla that would be expected with the arrival of such a large pack — none of the dogs barked, jumped or played around. They were almost dead-eyed. One lay at the back of a cage so motionless it was mistaken for a fluffy toy.

The dogs and almost two dozen horses had been rescued from a property nearby. Walton County sheriff’s investigators had been tipped off that there were more than a few dogs on the premises, but were not prepared for what they found.

With a search warrant gathered after they discovered a horse with a punctured eye that had gone untreated, investigators and Alaqua’s staff last Friday entered the double-wide trailer of Nancy Payne, the 49-year-old woman who was supposedly running a horse stable there.

They opened the windows to try to air the place out, but even then the stench of feces and ammonia was so strong everyone had to wear masks to enter.

The plywood floor was so soaked with urine and feces they were afraid they would fall through.

“Dogs were running from room to room, over furniture, out of bureau drawers,” said Amy Williams, Alaqua’s veterinarian.

Four 6-week-old puppies were the only animals that were caged, and they were lying inches deep in urine and feces. Williams said they were deathly ill.

The dogs had established a hierarchy and the smaller ones were clearly malnourished. They had wounds on their eyes and skin. Many had lost most of their teeth.

The dogs had been breeding rampantly; 50 or 60 of them are pregnant, said Laurie Hood, the refuge’s founder.

Payne had been living in the trailer with the animals and apparently selling at least some online.

“I still can’t believe anyone lived there,” Williams said. “I just can’t get my mind around what she was doing.”

Three of the four puppies that were caged have since died, as have three of the other dogs, Hood said.

Payne has been charged with 102 counts of felony animal cruelty and is being held in the Walton County Jail.

The team brought the dogs back to the refuge the night of the rescue. Processing them and cataloging their injuries took until well past midnight.

The staff has been working around the clock since then. Bathing and grooming alone has taken days. One of the mother dogs was matted so much that she couldn’t walk, much less feed her pups.

More than 150 volunteers have come out to help. Several local vets have donated their services and people have been generously giving money and supplies.

The change in the animals in less than a week has been astounding.

The dogs perk up when someone comes in the room. They dart around their cages and jump up on the rungs to see what’s going on. They bat around toys — the first they’ve ever seen — and the cacophony of barking is a welcome sign.

When taken out of its cage, one small dog that had been motionless and frightened just days before lies back in the arms of a groomer, eyes closed, letting her rub his belly.

The horse whose eye had to be removed trots around in his fenced-in area. Another large horse that had a bone protruding from one of its legs runs and bucks on the green grass.

A little love — and food and a bath — has gone a long way.

“When they arrived they had this dead look in their eyes,” Hood said. “Now you go out and you see the life coming back into them.”

With the rescued animals, the refuge is at capacity. It cannot adopt out any of the dogs now; it must wait 10 days for a judge to rule on whether Alaqua will be given custody of the animals. There remains the possibility the animals could be returned to Payne.

Hood hopes that will not happen. She’s traveled around Florida to help bolster law enforcement agencies’ abilities to prosecute and convict animal abusers, and she’s confident they have followed all the necessary steps in this case.

She said if Alaqua gains custody, all remaining 91 dogs are adoptable.

“Even though I would take all of them home, I know they are going to find wonderful homes,” said Alissa Parsons, a refuge intern from Tampa who is studying to be a groomer but now wants to pursue animal rescue. “They are all going to end up being very great dogs.”

FREEPORT — Last Friday about 100 dogs arrived at the Alaqua Animal Refuge in one fell swoop and overran the shelter.

There was a distinct absence of the hoopla that would be expected with the arrival of such a large pack — none of the dogs barked, jumped or played around. They were almost dead-eyed. One lay at the back of a cage so motionless it was mistaken for a fluffy toy.

The dogs and almost two dozen horses had been rescued from a property nearby. Walton County sheriff’s investigators had been tipped off that there were more than a few dogs on the premises, but were not prepared for what they found.

With a search warrant gathered after they discovered a horse with a punctured eye that had gone untreated, investigators and Alaqua’s staff last Friday entered the double-wide trailer of Nancy Payne, the 49-year-old woman who was supposedly running a horse stable there.

They opened the windows to try to air the place out, but even then the stench of feces and ammonia was so strong everyone had to wear masks to enter.

The plywood floor was so soaked with urine and feces they were afraid they would fall through.

“Dogs were running from room to room, over furniture, out of bureau drawers,” said Amy Williams, Alaqua’s veterinarian.

Four 6-week-old puppies were the only animals that were caged, and they were lying inches deep in urine and feces. Williams said they were deathly ill.

The dogs had established a hierarchy and the smaller ones were clearly malnourished. They had wounds on their eyes and skin. Many had lost most of their teeth.

The dogs had been breeding rampantly; 50 or 60 of them are pregnant, said Laurie Hood, the refuge’s founder.

Payne had been living in the trailer with the animals and apparently selling at least some online.

“I still can’t believe anyone lived there,” Williams said. “I just can’t get my mind around what she was doing.”

Three of the four puppies that were caged have since died, as have three of the other dogs, Hood said.

Payne has been charged with 102 counts of felony animal cruelty and is being held in the Walton County Jail.

The team brought the dogs back to the refuge the night of the rescue. Processing them and cataloging their injuries took until well past midnight.

The staff has been working around the clock since then. Bathing and grooming alone has taken days. One of the mother dogs was matted so much that she couldn’t walk, much less feed her pups.

More than 150 volunteers have come out to help. Several local vets have donated their services and people have been generously giving money and supplies.

The change in the animals in less than a week has been astounding.

The dogs perk up when someone comes in the room. They dart around their cages and jump up on the rungs to see what’s going on. They bat around toys — the first they’ve ever seen — and the cacophony of barking is a welcome sign.

When taken out of its cage, one small dog that had been motionless and frightened just days before lies back in the arms of a groomer, eyes closed, letting her rub his belly.

The horse whose eye had to be removed trots around in his fenced-in area. Another large horse that had a bone protruding from one of its legs runs and bucks on the green grass.

A little love — and food and a bath — has gone a long way.

“When they arrived they had this dead look in their eyes,” Hood said. “Now you go out and you see the life coming back into them.”

With the rescued animals, the refuge is at capacity. It cannot adopt out any of the dogs now; it must wait 10 days for a judge to rule on whether Alaqua will be given custody of the animals. There remains the possibility the animals could be returned to Payne.

Hood hopes that will not happen. She’s traveled around Florida to help bolster law enforcement agencies’ abilities to prosecute and convict animal abusers, and she’s confident they have followed all the necessary steps in this case.

She said if Alaqua gains custody, all remaining 91 dogs are adoptable.

“Even though I would take all of them home, I know they are going to find wonderful homes,” said Alissa Parsons, a refuge intern from Tampa who is studying to be a groomer but now wants to pursue animal rescue. “They are all going to end up being very great dogs.”